Food photo checker
Is this photo good enough for your menu? Check focus, exposure, glare, color cast and resolution in seconds, with the fix for each problem. Free, and your photo never leaves your device.
Drop a photo of a dish here
JPG, PNG, WebP or iPhone HEIC. A phone photo is perfect.
Your photo stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
- 1
Add a photo of the dish
Drop a menu or delivery photo on the page. It is read by your browser; nothing is uploaded.
- 2
Read the checks
Focus, exposure, glare, color cast, color strength, contrast and resolution, each measured from the pixels and marked good, close or needs work.
- 3
Fix what is flagged
Every flagged check comes with the fix you can do with a phone, in order of impact. Reshoot, check again, then upload.
What the checker looks at
- Focus. The one thing that cannot be fixed later. A soft photo reads as careless on a menu.
- Exposure and glare. Dark photos hide texture; blown-out whites lose the shine on sauces and cheese. Even light from the side works for most dishes.
- Color cast and color strength. Warm bulbs turn food orange and fluorescent tubes turn it green. Ohio State researchers found that richer color makes food look fresher and tastier and raises purchase intent, so natural, strong color matters.
- Contrast. Flat light makes every part of the plate the same brightness and hides its shape.
- Resolution. Big enough for DoorDash’s 1920×1080 means big enough for every delivery app.
FAQ
What makes a good menu photo?
Three things matter most: the whole dish in the frame, the dish in focus, and one dish per photo. After that, even light without flash, no heavy color cast, and enough resolution for the app you post to.
How does the checker measure blur?
It measures how much fine detail the photo has (the variance of edges across the image). A photo taken with a moving hand or the wrong focus point has very little, which is why it is marked blurry.
Why does my photo have a yellow or orange cast?
Warm restaurant bulbs. The checker reads the cast from the plate, the table and other near-white areas, not from the food, because a curry or a pizza is supposed to be orange. Daylight from a window gives more natural color, or you can correct the white balance before you post.
Will a dark, moody photo or a white background be marked as a mistake?
Not by itself. A dark background with a well-lit dish and strong contrast is a deliberate style, and a pure white backdrop that runs to the edge of the frame is treated as background, not glare. The checker flags photos that are dim and flat everywhere, and pure white spots on the dish itself.
Can a blurry food photo be fixed?
Not really. Light, color and framing can be corrected after the fact; motion blur and missed focus cannot. Tap the dish to focus, hold still for a second and take a few shots.
What resolution do delivery apps need?
DoorDash asks for 1920×1080, Uber Eats 1200×960, and Grubhub and Seamless 1200×1200. A photo straight from a modern phone is large enough; screenshots and copies sent through messaging apps often are not.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The analysis runs in your browser on your own device and nothing is sent to a server.
Does the score judge my food?
No. It measures light, focus and color in the image. A great dish can score low in bad light, which is exactly what the checker is for.